Shovel-plow.



PATENTED AUG. 30, 1904.

w. e. TOWER.

SHOVEL PLOW.

APPLICATION TILED FEB. 2, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

Wiigesse r UNITED STATES Patented August 30, 1904.

PATENT OEEicE.

WILLIAM GRANT TOWER, OF CORONA, CALIFORNIA. ASSIGNOR OF TEN- ELEVENTHS TO WVILLIAM B. ROBERTS, WILLIAM P. BRYANT. DAVID W. IVALKINSHAW, WALTER N. TILSON, PETER S. GRUENDIKE, JOSEPH SUNDERLAND, DANIEL H. ALDEN, IRA FELDMAN, AND GEORGE W.

GRAY.

SHOVEL-PLOW.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,640, dated. August 30, 1904.

Application filed February 2, 1904. Serial No. 191,725. (No model.)

To all whom it mmw concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAu GRANT TOWER, a citizen of the United States. residing'at Oorona, in the county of Riverside and State of California, have invented a new and useful Shovel-Plow, of which the following isa specin'cation.

This invention relates to the moldboards of shovel-plows, cultivator-shovels, and similar structures, and has for its object to improve the construction and provide means whereby a self-sharpening and adjustable point is secured, and, further, to provide means whereby the improved moldboard may be attached to any of the ordinary plow or cultivator standards without structural change of the latter.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters, there is illustrated the preferred form of the embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in the shape, proportions, and general assemblage of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings thus employed, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a standard with theimproved moldboard attached. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on theline 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4c at of Fig. 2.

The improved device may be applied to any of the various forms of shovel-plows or to many of the forms of cultivators in common use and similar implements, but is more particularly applicable to the form of shovelplows employed in' irrigation operations and is shown applied to a standard 10 of an implement of this character. The improved device consists in a mold- 5 board 11 of the usual form, having a longitudinal groove 12 in its outer face, preferably centrally of the same, with the side walls of the groove undercut or dovetailed and also slightly converging toward the rear end. The groove will be curved to conform to the longitudinal curve of the moldboard and will also be provided with elongated slots 13, having inclined side walls. Clam p-bolts 14, formed with inclined heads 15, conforming to and slidably engaging the slots, are provided to enable the moldboard to be detachably and adj ustably attached to the standard. The slots 13 thus provide a convenient means for adapting the moldboard to the various forms and 5 sizes of the standards 10 employed upon the various makes of shovel-plows, Cultivators, and the like, so that,furnisl1edwith a comparatively small variety of diiferent forms of moldboards adapted for work in different 7 kinds of crops, an extensive variety of implements may be equipped with the improved device, or a farmer can by this simple arrangement employ one of the improved moldboards upon various implements in his possession.

Fitting the dovetailed and converging groove is a tongue 16, curved to conform to the longitudinal curve of the moldboard and with inclined and converging sides to conform to the inclined and converging side walls of the groove. A setscrew 17 is tapped through the bottom of the groove for hearing against the under side of the tongue to adjustably clamp the latter to the moldboard. The point 18 of the tongue 16 is sharpened 5 or in wedge form when new and positioned in the groove with a portion of the lower end projecting beyond the lower or cutting edge of the moldboard to form the point to operate in-advance of the moldboard in theusual 9 manner of the point of the share of a plow or cultivator. Then as the point wears away, the principal wear being upon the upper surface, the wedge form will be retained, and when worn to the line of the front edge of the moldboard the set-screw 17 can be loosened and the tongue 16 extended to keep the wedgeformed end constantly projected to the required extent. The tongue 16 can thus be employed until it has nearly worn away its whole length, as the tongue will be firmly retained in place so long as any part bears against the set-screw 17. In practice it has been found that the set-screw can be practically employed three and one-half inches only from the lower or cutting edge of the moldboard. Consequently the tongue will be operative until worn to that comparatively short length and then the moldboard practically renewed by simply inserting a new tongue.

The tongue 16 will preferably be of hardened steel, while the moldboard will preferably be of cast-steel, and as the tongue memher is relatively small and inexpensive it can be replaced at small expense, thus providing for the continued life of the device for an indefinite period.

The device is very simple in construction and durable as to wearing and strain-resisting qualities.

It will be noted that the tongue 16 is supported at the point 18 by the full strength of the body of the moldboard, which, being cast in one piece, is of ample strength to resist the severe strains to which it will be subjected.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A device of the class described consisting of a moldboard having a longitudinal groove in its outer face with undercut sides, a tongue adjustably disposed in said groove and conforining thereto, and means for detachably securing said tongue in said groove.

2. A moldboard having alongitudinal dovetail groove, atongue ad justabl y mounted within the groove, and aijam-bolt carried by the lower end of the moldboard and engaging the tongue to hold it at any desired adjustment.

3. A device of the class described consisting of a moldboard having a longitudinal groove in its outer face and with longitudinal slots through the bottom of the groove, clampbolts engaging said slots for detachably connecting the moldboard to asupporting-standard, a tongue engaging said groove and bearing upon the heads of said clamp-bolts, and means for adjustably connecting said tongue within said groove.

4. A device of the class described consisting of a moldboard having a longitudinal groove in its outer face and with longitudinal slots through the bottom of the groove the slots having converging side walls, clamp-bolts having inclined heads for engaging said slots and constituting means for detachably connecting the moldboard to a supporting-standard,a tongue engaging said groove and bearing upon said bolt-heads, and means for adjustably connnecting said tongue within said groove.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM GRANT TOWER.

Witnesses:

BEN. F. Pmuon, G. T. SANDERS. 

